Ad Tech's Future Beyond Facebook and Google

By Jeff Kagan
Aug 24, 2017 2:24 PM PT

Advertising technology, or ad tech, is a relatively new business segment. Both Google and Facebook have been very successful with this new advertising model. That's great for today, but what is the future of ad tech going forward? Will it be important and rapidly expand to a wider segment, or will it be limited to the way certain companies show value and grow?

Advertising has gone through wave after wave of change over the decades. Considering its long history, ad tech is still a new area. When Google went public, it needed to show it could be profitable, so it started selling advertising in the ad tech space. It was very successful, although there were ups and downs. The bottom line is that this is one important way Google makes money.

The same is true of Facebook. When it went public, it needed to show revenue as well as continued subscriber growth. It has been very successful in the ad tech space. So, if you have a large user base coming to your website on a regular basis, it only makes sense that ad tech should be in your toolbox as a great way to earn significant income.

Verizon's Move Into Ad Tech

Ad tech seems to be the direction Verizon is heading in, following its acquisitions of AOL and Yahoo. It will be interesting to see if it is as successful as Google, Facebook, Amazon and others.

However, advertising technology is continually changing. What worked last year may not work as well this year. You must always stay on the cutting edge if you want to be successful in this space. That makes it more difficult to continue to lead going forward -- not impossible, but more difficult.

There are several different ad tech categories. Ads like those on Google, Facebook and Amazon are one category. However, there's an entire technology industry that studies this new phenomenon in order to improve results for advertisers and the companies that depend on advertising for revenue.

Both Art and Science

Companies that stay on the cutting edge of the ad tech market will find continued success, with more advertisers and increased revenue.

However, not every company will be able to ride the ad tech success wave. Those that don't will stumble, and the changes will happen relatively quickly in this rapidly changing space.

So, unless you are Google, Facebook or Amazon, you must stay up to speed in a variety of ways -- including bringing in outside consultants or companies that specialize in this field.

Ad tech will continue to be a growing sector. It will be very successful for some companies, but not others. Some companies will find success in a variety of new ways as time passes. Others may be successful in some ways but fail in others.

Any way you slice it, though, ad tech is here to stay. It will have to be updated continually as time passes, though, and keeping up-to-date is the toughest challenge.

Jeff Kagan has been an ECT News Network columnist since 2010. His focus is on the wireless and telecom industries. He is an independent
analyst, consultant and speaker.
Email Jeff.